Electric conduit



(No Model.)

H. A. CHASE.

I ELECTRIC OONDUIT. I No. 400,300; Patented Mar. 26, 1889;

My "a k 4 k M A M WW =3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. CHASE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS;

ELECTRIC CONDUIT;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 400,300, dated March 26, 1889-. Application filed November 30, 1888. Serial No, 292,172. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY A. CHASE, of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Electric Conduits, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention in electric conduits is an improvement upon the conduit shown and described in United States Patent No. 392,664, granted to me November 13,1888, and has for one of its objects to simplify and cheapen the cost of construction of the same.

In accordance with my invention a number of supporting-frames or short castings, each provided with a slot-chamber and an accessible chamber communicating with the slotchamber, have secured to them slot-rails, the slot-chambers of adjacent frames being connected by a 'shell preferably made as a sheetmetal plate, which forms with the slot-rails between adjacent supporting-frames a continuation of the slot-chamber. The accessible chamber of each supporting-frame is provided with openings at its end, and the accessible chambers of adjacent supportingframes are connected, as shown,by a pipe of any desired area or form in cross-section bolted or otherwise secured to the end walls of the said supporting-frames, the pipe registering with the openings in the said end. walls and forming in the completed conduit a continuous accessible chamber.

My invention also has for its object to pro-. vide a novel insulator, as will be described, by which leakage of current from the main conductors is obviated.

Another feature of my invention consists in providing a novel water-tight cover for the accessible chamber without the employment of bolts or wedges.

Other features in which my invention consists will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of an electric conduit embodying my invention, the section being taken on line w a; through one of the supporting-frames; Fig. 2, a top or plan view of the conduit shown in Fig. 1, broken 01f to save space in the drawings; and

Fig. 3 is a detail to be referred to.

The supporting frames A, connected, as will be described, in series, are each preferably cast in one piece to leave a slot-chamber, a,

and an accessible chamber, a, separated from each other by a division-wall, a provided with an opening, a The division-wall 0t and the wall a of the slot-chamber havesecured to them, as by bolts a slot-rails a afi, which may be of any desired length, the said rails, as herein shown, having webs resting upon shoulders 00 a on the walls a a respectively.

The accessible chamber a, as herein shown, is provided wit-h two removable covers, I) b, resting upon ledges b b on the side walls of the said chamber, and in order to render the accessible chamber water-tight without the use of bolts or wedges the cover I) is provided with an edge-packing, herein shown as a band, 12 preferably of rubber, the said band being fitted into a circumferential groove in the said cover. The end walls, 0, of the accessible chamber are provided with an opening, 0, and the openings 0' in adjacent supportingframes are connected together by a pipe, 0 provided, as shown, with end flanges, 0 by which the said pipe maybe readily secured to the supporting-frames, as by bolts 0 the said pipe forming a continuation of the accessible chambers, through which auxiliary feed-wires 0 may be extended, the said wires being supported upon insulators 0 located in the accessible chamber. Communication between the accessible chamber and the slot-chamber is established by the opening 04* in the division-wall a The main conductors d d are located in the slot-chamber, and are supported, as shown, by a yoke, 61 to which they are secured, as by set-screw 01 the said yoke having a shank, d extended into a preferably hollow insulator shown as a cylindrical block, d of insulating material. The insulator-cl is secured, as shown, to' supporting-bars d fastened to the wall a In order to effect a most thorough insulation and prevent the escape of current from the conductors d 01 through the insulators, a fluid or semi-fluid barrier is interposed, the barrier consisting, preferably, of hydrocarbon oil, as indicated by broken lines (l Fig. 1, the said oil being herein shown as contained in .a cup-shaped trough formed by an annular lip, e, on the insulator (l and so also the insulator itself may contain oil, as at d" it resting upon the top of the shank d. The cup-shaped trough is protected from dirt and water, 850., as herein shown, by a shield, 6 secured to the insulator d. The hydrocarbon oil may be readily renewed when desired by removing the covers of the accessible chamber. The walls of the supporting-trame which constitute the slot-chamber are provided, as shown, near the bottom of the said slot-chamber with projections or lugs 6 ,11) which are secured rails a, forming side supports for a trolleycarriage, substantially such as shown in another application, Serial No. 293,080, filed by me December 10, 1888. The insulators in the conduit may be kept dry by heat from a steam or other pipe, a located, as herein shown, below the accessible chamber. The slot-rails a a will preferably have their walls slotted vertically, as shown at in Fig. 3,

the bolts entering the slots 40 to hold the rails in position being preferably enough smaller in diameter than the said slot is wide to enable the rail to expand and contract without straining the walls. These slots permit the rails to be lifted out of the slot-chamber by simply loosening the bolts. The heads of the bolts holding the rail a will preferably be in the accessible chamber, while the nuts of the bolts holding the rail a will preferably be in the slot-chamber and readily accessible from the accessible chamber, thus obviating digging up the streets when it is desired to change a rail, for by removing the rail a the nuts holding the rail a may be reached from above down through the slot. The bottom of the accessible chamber is substantially near the bottom of the casting or supporting frame, thereby obtaining increased space or area in the accessible chamber.

I clain1- 1.. In an electric conduit, a supporting-frame provided with a division-wall having an open ing and forming within the said frame a slotchamber and an accessible chamber, a removable cover for said accessible chamber, and end walls for said chamberprovided with an opening, as 0, whereby communication may be established between the accessible chambers of adjacent supporting-frames, substantially as described.

2. In an electric conduit, the combination,

with a series of supporting-frames, each provided with a slot-chamber and an accessible chamber in communication with each other, of slot-rails secured to said supportingframe, and a pipe, as 0 secured to the said frames to establish communication between the accessisubstantially as, described.

In an electric conduit, the combination, with a conductor, of an insulator therefor, and a hydrocarbon-barrier carried by the said insulator, whereby leakage of current is obviated, substantially as described.

4. I11 an electric conduit having a slot chamber and an accessible chamber provided with ledges b b in communication with the said slot-chamber, a removable cover for said accessible chamber resting upon said ledges and provided with a circumferential groove, and a band, I), of packing material located in said groove and bearing against the walls of the said accessible chamber, whereby a water-tight joint is effected without the use of bolts, &c., substantially as described.

5. In an electric conduit, a slot-chamber and an accessible chamber communicating with the said slot chamber and provided with a removable cover, and a conductorin said slotchamber, combined with an insulator to support said conductor and with a hydrocarbonbarrier carried by the said insulator, whereby leakage of currentis prevented, substantially as described.

(5. In an electric conduit, a series of supporting-frames, each having a slot-chamber havingits walls provided with shoulders, combined with slot-rails having slots 40 in their web, which rest on the said shoulders, and secured to the said walls, substantially as described.

7. In an electric conduit, the herein described supporting frame or casting formed in one piece, and having the intermediate wall, a provided with an opening, and forming with the walls of the said frame or casting a slot-chamber and accessible chamber, the

bottom of the accessible chamber extending to substantially near the bottom of the casting, whereby increased space obtained in the accessible chamber, substantially as described.

8. In an electric conduit, a slot-chamber and an accessible chamber communicating with the said slot-chamber and provided with a removable cover, and aconductorin said slotchamber, combined with an insulator to support said conductor having a trough, and with an oil located in said trough, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY A. CHASE.

\Vitnesses:

JAS. I]. CHURCHILL, M. RAY. 

